QLD Excerpt from the 2019 March Market report

The Sunshine State is faring well as it reaps the rewards of a growing economy and high demand for its lifestyle markets

Queensland has come far in the past few years, regaining its footing in good time since the mining crash to become a popular property market in Australia.

“Some phenomenal growth was seen in the last two years, and we’re still seeing that being pushed through by the land price increases and the prices developers are pushing based on the supply,” says Damien Lee, head of acquisitions at Caifu Property.

“Demand is still very high, so we’re still seeing good rewards and good growth in Southeast Queensland from a land perspective. I’m also seeing a very good growth marketplace in the ripple-effect markets of the lifestyle cities in the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.”

The city of Cairns has been seeing considerable development as well, with developer Urbex Realty setting up shop close to the CBD when the local economy started to pick up.

“We are seeing the economy steadily regaining composure on the back of growth in employment and increased tourism in the region, with positive indicators such as a 6.3% decrease in unemployment rates in 2018 alone, improvements in housing building approvals and airport passenger numbers ticking up,” says Craig Covacich, general manager of Urbex Realty.

“We are thrilled to be a part of Cairns’ economic resurgence and to contribute to the local economy.”

Investors should act wisely

While Brisbane is largely past its apartment oversupply issue, investors do need to tread carefully.

“Brisbane in 2018 was still one of the best places in Australia to live. However, as an investment option, it’s still to hit its straps,” says Propertyology managing director Simon Pressley.

“Queensland is once again enjoying increased population gains. It’s largely due to the relative housing affordability and less stressful lifestyle. But the failure of consecutive state governments to capitalise on a worldwide tourism boom and an extremely exciting outlook for agribusiness is telling.”

Century 21 Australasia’s chairman and owner, Charles Tarbey, has also expressed concern at how tied Brisbane’s market is to Sydney and Melbourne.

“Queensland can often benefit from the equity wave effect where increases in housing equity in NSW and Victoria often lead to increased demand for housing in Queensland. The problem is that the opposite can also be true.”

Roughly 10 minutes from the Rockhampton CBD, the suburb of Berserker boasts remarkably low prices. However, in the house market, demand has been inadequate to break the trend of negative growth Berserker has reported since December 2013. Values slipped by a further 7.6% to below $200,000 in the year to October 2018.

Nonetheless, it has been a different story for units, which saw a 5.4% rise in prices over the same 12 months, bringing the median value up to $221,745 and breaking the negative streak. Rental yields in this market are also very high at more than 6%, and weekly rents fell by 3.4% to an average of $240 in the 12 months to October.

Yield: Berserker boasts incredibly high rental returns of 7.2% and 6.6% for houses and units

Affordability: Houses sell at a median price of just $173,811, while unit prices have risen to $221,745

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